Take-up device for motion-picture machines.



A. L. sALTZMAN. TAKE-UP DEVICE FOR MOTION PIG-TUBE MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED AUG.17, 1911.

1,071,800. Patented Sept. 2,1913.

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Patemea Sept. 2, 1913.

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UNITED STATES PATENT creme.

AUGUSTE I1. SALTZMAN, OF EAST ORANGE, JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THOMAS A. EDISON, INCORIORATEID, OF WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

TAKE-UP DEVICE FOR MOTION-PICTURE MACHINES.

, specification of t Patented Seiit. 2, 1913.

Application filed August 17, 1911. Serial No. 644,682.

I To an wltom it may concern Be it known that I, AUGUSTE L. SALTZ: mm, a citizen of the United States, residing at-East Orange, in the county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new. and useful Improvements in Take-Up Devices for Motion-Picture Machines; and I declare the following .to be a full, true, and exact description of said invention, such as .will enable 0 ers skilled in the art to which it appertai to make use of the same.

This invention relatesto' that class of motion picture machines in which a roll of film .is unrolled, passed through the machine, and then rolled up again. For this last purposeit is usual to-provide a take-up device consisting of a shaft, and a driving means, usually aileather belt, to operate it from the projecting mechanism. If the take-u mechanism does not 0 rate properly, either the .strain produce on the film beeomessutficiently great to'breakf it, or it is not wound up at all. Itis desirable, therefore, toprovide a mechanism which will be very certain and positive in its act-ion and yet simple in construction, and this is one of the o jects of my inventi In motion picture projecting machines, it is desirable that the reel on which the film is woundu' may he'located directly beneath the mac ine or in front of it, as

the lack of floor space-or the convenience of the operator-dictates.

Another of the objects of my invention is to provide positive, driving mechanism arranged to ermit the placing of the takeup reel in eit r of these, two places without any change in the driving mechanism.

In some forms of motion picture. projecting machines, such as I-have illustrated, the

operating mechanism is raised or lowered in g order to frame the picture properly before the projecting lens. When the take-up reelis located below the mechanism, this causes the driving center to rise and: fall with reference to the take-up reel- When. a belt drive for the take-up reel isnsed, it is a; very simple matter to arrange a weighted idler to keep the belt in proper'tension, but when l v a positive driv' chain belt, whic mechanlsm, such as a h apreferably use, is. provided, a wei hted i er does not give satisfactory res ts, nor indeed is; it. necessary since fa: positive driving mechanism is. not

dependent on friction for its driving power, as is an ordinary belt. Another of theobjects of my invention is to provide a simple form of positive driving mechanism for the take-up reel, which will notbe affected by the raising and lowerin of the projecting mechanisms.

' neath the mechanism,'and front of the mechanism, in dotted lines. Fig.1L2 is a side elevation of a portion of the mechanism showing particularly my improved driving devices with the take-up reel in front of the mechanism. Fig. 3 is a plan View of Fig. 2.

The corresponding parts are referred to both in the drawings and in the following description by similar reference characters.

In the accompanying drawings 11 represents a bed plate on Which the projecting 'machine mechanism 12 is mounted.

13 is. the upper reel on which the film is mounted before passing it downward-1y across the projecting lens of the mechanism 12 to the take-up reel 14.

15 is the framing, handle by which the ,-me chanism, including the shaft 16, is raised .and lowered, to frame the picture properly before the projecting lens.

lZ is af'bracket, which may be attached- .in leither of the two positions shown in Fig. 1,- either 'to a portionof the mechanism 12, or to the support 11,. as may be'desired. This bracket 17 has journaled therein 'a shaft 18 provided with a'key to drive the 1 vice 19 to keep thereel from moving 0 the consisting .of two friction members, one fastened to the shaft 18 and the other free in. frictional contact ,spring 2121'.

l' ith these and other objects in view, my

to turn thereon, the two parts held by, the ad ustable.

reel 14 mounted thereon, and a holdin de- ,shaft 18 The end opposite the reel 14 is provided with the usual frictlon device 20,

. I provide the loose member of theifriti 1 y 5 transmitting power from 27 to 28.

-35 a whole,since the be moved up and down.

'0 so as to have a'planetary tion device 20 with a gear 22 which meshes with a gear 23, mounted on a stud in a bracket 24, loosely mounted onan extension of bracket 17. The bracket 24: permits a 5 planetary motion-of the gear 23 about the gear 22, at the same time keeping the gears properly in mesh.

25 is a flat rod attached loosely to the bracket 24, and to'a screw 25, the latter being attached to a fixed member 26 of-the reel and its driving mechanism move up and down with the roj ecting mechanism, as racket 17 is attached to the projecting mechanism. The rod 25 maintains the sprocket-s 27 and 28 at a fixedcenter distance, so that the tension on the chain '29 is constant, and it is obvious that go the power of the dr'v' g shaft 16 is transniitted through the chain and the gear 23 to the gear 22, and through the friction device to the shaft 18, thus winding upthe film' .as it is passed through the mecha- 35 nism 12.

When the take-up reel is placed below the projecting mechanism, as shown in full lines of Fig. 1, the shaft 18 of the reel is fixed in. space, whereas the drivin shaft 16 may hen so moved, the rod carries the gear 23 up and down with the mechanism 12,-maintaining a fixed distance between the centers of the sprockets 22' and 28, and yet, by reason of the 5 mounting of the gear 23 onthebracket '24,

these gears are always properlyin mesh.

For convenience of manufacture, I have rovided two centers 30 and 31 by which the rod 25. may be attachedto the mechanism 5.) 12, accordingto the position of the take-up reel. It is obvious that this rod could be mounted on the hub of the driving shaft 16 in a manner similar to that in which it is attached to the bracket 24::-

While I have shown a chain and sprocket drire as my preferred form of positive driving means between the driving shaft and take-up reel, I do not limit myself to such form of drive, for, by mounting'the gear motion about gear 22, I am able to use, between the driving shaft 16 and the gear 22, any form of between said driving shaft and sai car 23, or a pair of helical gears at the (riving shaft, transmitting power through a shaft parallel to the chain 29 to another pair of helical gears at the gear 23, might be used.

Havinginow described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. In a machine of the classdescribed, a film reel shaft mounted in a fixed position, a driving shaft movable toward and away from said' film reel shaft, a pair of rotatable members one of which. is fixed to said driving shaft and the other of which is'operativ'ely connected to said reel shaft, means for maintaining said reel shaft, and means-for transmitting power between sa d rotatable members, substantially as described. I

2. In a machine of the 'class described, a

film reel shaft mounted-inn fixed position,

a driving shaft movable,. -toward and away from said film reelsh'aftg -a air of chain sprockets one of which is fixe to said driving shaft and the other of which. is operatively connected to said reel shaft, means for maintaining. said lastnamed sprocket spaced at a constant distance from said reel shaft, 7

and a'chain for transmitting' power between said iprockets, substantially as described.

a machine of the clam described, a

film reel'sliaft, mounted in a fixed position, a driving shaft adapted to be moved toward and away fromsaid-film reel shaft, means comprising-a chain belt and a pair of chain sprockets adapted totransmit power from the driving shaft to the film reel shaft, and means adapted to maintainv one of said sprockets at a fixed distance from the-film reel shaft and to keep a uniform tension on said chain regardless of the relative positions of the driving shaft and the film reel shaft, substantially as described.

a. In a machine of the class described, a film reel shaft, a driving shaft, a bracket for supporting the film reel-shaft adapted to be fastened'in either of two positions to locate the film reelshaft either in front of or beneath the driving shaft, and a positive driving means adapted and arranged to transmit power from the .d iving shaft to the film reel shaft in either of its two positions, substantiallyas described.

5. In a machine of the class described, a

film reel shaft, a gear oiif' said shaft, a sec- 0nd gear meshing with the first named gear, a bracket supporting said second gear and adapted to permit a planetary motion of said second gear aroundsaid first gear, a driving shaft, and a positive drivin means second the named rotatable member spaced at a constant distance from j'i'ositive drivin means requiring fixed center distances. or instance, a series of spur a: (wars between the driving center and the gear, substantially as described.

- 6. In a machine of the class described, a film reel shaft, a gear'on said shaft, a sec 1 ond gear meshing with the first named gear,

a bracket supporting said secoiidgear and adapted to permit aplanetai'y motion of said second gear around said first gear, a

' driving shaft, and a chain and ,gear con nection between said driving shaft and said second gear, substantially as described.

7. In a machine of the class described, a film reel, a shaft on which the film reel is mounted, a g] ar on said shaft, asecond gear meshing wit the first named gear, a bracket supporting said second gear and adapted to -permit .a planetary motion of said second gear around said first gear, a driving shaft, a chain and gear connection between the said driving shaft and said second ear, and

a bar to hold said second ear at a xed distance from the driving s aft, substantially as described.

8. In a machine of the class described, a film reel, a shaft on which the film reel is mounted, a car on said shaft, a second gear meshing wit the first named gear, a bracket support-mg said second gear and adapted to permit a planetary motion of said second gear around said first gear, a driving. shaft, a chain and gear connection between the said drivin shaft and said. second gear, and a bar of a justable effective length to hold said second ear at a fixed distance from the driving sfiaft, substantially as described.

9. In a machine of theclass described, a film reel shaft mounted in a fixed position,

Copies a: this patent may be obtained rotatable member and film reel shaft constant re ardless of the relative positions of the driving stantially as described.

10. In a machine of the class described, a film reel shaft mounted in a fixed osition a driving shaft adapted to be move toward and away from said film reel shaft, means for transmitting power from the driving shaft to the film reel shaft com rising a ear and means formountin sai ear for pivotal movement about saidfilm reel shaft and maintaining the distances between the driving shaft and earand between the gear and fi m reel sha t constant re the relative positions of thedriving shaft and film reel shaft, substantially as described.

This specification signed and witnessed this 11th day of August, 1911,

AUGUSTE L. SALTZMAN.

Witnesses: v

' HENRY LANAHAN, ANNA R. KLEHM.

for five centseach, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G.

shaft and film reel shaft, subardless of 

